A keyway system is the broached profile of a cylinder plug, the ward pattern that decides which blanks enter, how bitting is cut, and which masters can pass. We service every major keyway family across Maryland, Washington DC and Northern Virginia. After 25 years in the trade, King Locksmith Experts. wrote this reference for fellow professionals.
Every pin tumbler plug is broached with a specific keyway profile. The wards along the slot engage the milling on the key blade, so a blank enters only when its grooves mirror that profile. Pin spacing, depth increments and chamber count are fixed by the same system specification.
Schlage Classic C runs six pins at 0.156 inch spacing with ten depths in 0.015 inch steps and a MACS of 7. Kwikset KW1 runs five pins at 0.150 inch spacing, seven depths in 0.023 inch steps and a MACS of 4. Best SFIC A2 runs 0.150 inch spacing, ten depths at 0.0125 inch and up to seven chambers.
Most keyway trouble we see is identification, not wear. A Schlage SC1 blank forced into a Sargent LA broach jams on the wards before the first chamber. Sectional keyways add a second trap: a Schlage Classic C key will not enter an E plug, while a CE master passes both, which is the system working as designed.
Across the District of Columbia we regularly find one cylinder replaced on a different keyway, after which the building master stops passing. Read the keyway stamp on the plug face, confirm it on a blank gauge, then choose: rekey within the family, or replace into the matching profile.
Keyway choice sets the ceiling of a master key system. Schlage Classic and Sargent multiplex families let a master blank milled to the parent profile pass every child section while change keys stay confined to their own broach. Pinning still follows the family spec: two-step progression on 0.015 inch Schlage depths and MACS enforced on every change key.
Open stock keyways such as SC1 and KW1 duplicate anywhere. Restricted keyways, Schlage Everest or factory-restricted SFIC profiles, are cut only under signature authorization. Patented sidebar systems, Medeco, Schlage Primus and ASSA Twin, add patent protection and a secondary locking element on the blade. Across Maryland, most security upgrades are keyway changes, not hardware swaps.
Unsure which keyway family you are holding? Call (240) 345-1455 and describe the plug stamp. Our technicians will walk you through identification, pinning and compatibility.
Reading a keyway decides whether a rekey is possible, a master system survives, or a cylinder needs replacing. We have read them for 25 years.
Before any pinning, we confirm the broach against a blank gauge and the plug face stamp, then verify pin spacing and depth increments with calipers.
We carry Schlage Classic, Sargent multiplex and SFIC A2 blanks and pinning, so parent and child sections are progressed correctly without cross-keying or ghost keys.
Restricted and patented blanks leave our shop only with signature authorization on file, protecting the key control your clients paid for when they chose it.
A keyway is only as reliable as the door holding it. Our door specialist corrects alignment and strike fit so plugs stop binding under load.
Keyway systems underpin every cylinder format we service. Explore the other cylinder types our technicians repair, rekey, replace and install daily across Maryland, Washington DC and Northern Virginia.
Straight answers from King Locksmith Technicans to on Keyway Systems questions customers ask us most.
(240) 345-1455
Read the plug face stamp, then test blanks on a gauge. Calipers on pin spacing settle the rest.
Only inside one sectional family on a parent profile blank. SC1 and KW1 never share a key.
Yes, Schlage Classic, Sargent and SFIC A2 systems. Call (240) 345-1455.
